MINNEAPOLIS — The Augsburg University volleyball team outlasted St. Catherine University 3-2 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match on Friday. Augsburg honored its eight seniors —
Ava Carlson,
Gwynn Gorter,
Grace Hamilton,
Jovial King,
Maggie Lile,
Lola Pilon,
Elise Uphoff and
Teagan Walter — during Friday's match.
THE BASICS
SCORE: Augsburg def. St. Catherine 3-2 (19-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-16, 15-11)
LOCATION: Si Melby Hall, Minneapolis
RECORDS: Augsburg 9-14 overall (4-5 MIAC), St. Catherine 5-17 overall (3-6 MIAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Auggies moved from a 3-2 deficit to a 7-4 lead in the fifth set and finished the match with 59 kills and a .225 hitting percentage.
The Auggies moved in front 2-1 on a Gorter kill and Lile service ace, and the opening set stayed even through 10-10 with kills from Gorter,
Lilly Wynn and
Taliah Triggs and a Pilon ace. The Wildcats created separation at 13-10 on kills by Addison Preuss and Marta Haugen around an Auggies attack error, but a Pilon kill, Hamilton block and St. Kate's attack error brought the Auggies back even at 13-13. The Wildcats pushed back ahead 18-14 with help from Alivia Hanover's kill and a service ace, while the Auggies later narrowed the score to 18-16 on a Wildcats attack error and bad set. The visitors answered with kills from Hanover and Maddie Newton, added late service aces from Newton and Josie Popp, and closed the set 25-19 on an Addison Vandereide kill.
The Auggies trailed 5-4 in the second set before Lile's service turn produced four straight points, including a Wynn kill and a service ace, and Wynn added another kill to make it 9-6. A Pilon ace and two Uphoff aces helped the Auggies move ahead 14-7, but St. Kate's scored five straight to pull within 15-13 and later added another five-point stretch to go in front 18-17. The Auggies answered with an
Aloaha Ricke kill to tie it at 18-18, moved back ahead 21-19 on kills by Triggs and Wynn, and after the Wildcats tied the set at 21-21 and 22-22, Triggs, Ricke and an
Ameerah Rogers block closed out a 25-22 set win.
In the third set, after the Auggies traded points to 4-4 on early kills by Ricke and Triggs, St. Kate's scored three straight with a Quinlynn Parish block and consecutive Marta Haugen kills to go ahead 7-4. Rogers' ace helped the Auggies cut the gap to 7-6, and the Auggies kept answering Wildcats points until
Ava Carlson's kill from Rogers tied the set at 12-12; St. Kate's countered with the next three points, including a Maddie Newton ace, for a 15-12 lead. Kills from Wynn and Pilon kept the Auggies within reach later in the set, and a Rogers-King block tied it at 20-20 before Uphoff served an ace for a 21-20 Auggies lead. King added kills for 22-21 and 23-22 leads, but the Wildcats took the final three points on an Auggies bad set, a Haugen kill and an Auggies attack error to win the set 25-23.
The Auggies had to work back from a 9-1 deficit after the Wildcats opened the fourth set with three Maneeje Mostaghimi service aces and early kills from Addison Vandereide and Maddie Newton. Kills by Triggs and Rogers helped the Auggies close within 11-9, but St. Kate's moved back ahead 13-9. The Auggies then won seven straight points, with Ricke putting down three kills and King adding another during Rogers' service run to give the Auggies a 16-13 lead. After the Wildcats got as close as 19-16, the Auggies closed the set with six consecutive points on Lile's serve, including kills by Wynn and Triggs, to win 25-16.
The fifth set stayed tight through the first seven points, with Wynn and Triggs kills keeping the Auggies level before Pilon's service ace put the Auggies ahead 4-3. After St. Kate's tied it at 4-4, Triggs put the Auggies back in front, and Ricke added consecutive kills for a 7-4 lead. When the Wildcats got within 7-6, Ricke answered with back-to-back kills, a Quinlynn Parish attack error followed, and Ricke's next kill stretched the Auggies' lead to 11-6. St. Kate's cut the gap to 12-11 on three Auggies errors, but Ricke's kill, Triggs' block on a Marta Haugen attack and
Ava Carlson's ace closed the set at 15-11.
AUGSBURG TOP PERFORMERS
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Aloaha Ricke: 19 points, 19 kills, 5 digs
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Jovial King: 39 assists, 9 digs, 4 kills, 1 block
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Maggie Lile: 17 digs, 2 service aces
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Lilly Wynn: Season-high 13 kills
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Taliah Triggs: 11 kills, .400 hitting percentage, 12 points
UP NEXT
The Auggies host St. Olaf College on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m. at Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis.
